Town of Machu Picchu formerly known as Aguas Calientes is the gate way town to Machu Picchu. The train’s final stop is in this town . The entire town is filled with hotels , eateries and souvenir shops !

Use it as a base for Machu Picchu. One night in this town is sufficient. We got into the town around 6 PM . Purchased our bus pass for Machu Picchu for next morning. You can see signs for where to buy the pass everywhere once you get out of the train station.

We settled into our hotel . Hotels can be expensive. Had dinner just by wandering around and picking out a restaurant that looked busy . Food was decent. Turned in early for an early morning trek to Machu Picchu.

Next morning followed the crowds to line up for the buses for Machu Picchu. Go early to line up . At least an hour before ! You can also do a 6 KM hike instead of the buses . We preferred the buses !

After spending the morning in Machu Picchu we were back by noon . Our train wasn’t till 4 PM . So we got massages at this local place , souvenir shopped and had lunch before heading back to Cusco.

We tried switching our train back to Cusco to be earlier but it was all sold out . I would recommend making your return train ticket to be around 2 PM .

Overall the town serves its purpose very well . Reminded me a lot of a small town I visited in France near the Pyrenees Mountains. Scenic and charming despite the hordes of people!